UN panel rules Julian Assange 'unlawfully detained': Report
UN panel rules Julian Assange 'unlawfully detained': Report
This comes hours after Assange tweeted he would accept arrest if the UN panel ruled against him

A United Nations panel considering the "unlawful detention" of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has ruled in his favour, the BBC reported Thursday.

The report on its website said the BBC "understands" the panel has ruled that Assange was "arbitrarily" detained.

This comes hours after Assange tweeted he would accept arrest if the UN panel ruled against him, but called for the arrest warrant to be dropped if the decision went in his favour.

The UN's Working Group on Arbitrary Detention is due to announce its findings on Friday.

The Wikileaks founder took refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London in 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden over two sexual assault claims.

Assange, an Australian, has denied the allegations saying it was in retaliation for WikiLeaks releasing thousands of pages of secret government documents.

Assange complained to the UN two years ago that he was being "arbitrarily detained" as he could not leave the embassy without being arrested.

The UN panel's ruling does not have any legal binding over British and Swedish authorities.

WikiLeaks, founded by Assange in 2006, released 500,000 secret military files on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and 250,000 diplomatic cables enraging the United States.

Assange fears being extradited to the US to be quizzed over the activities of WikiLeaks if he travels to Sweden.

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